That's the way the Jaguars are understood. They run the ball in Jacksonville. They creep down the field little by little with a stout ground game that works when it works.

But inside the organization, the Jacksonville Jaguars don't quite see it that way. Ask if theirs can be an offense of fireworks and talk of explosive plays rise up. There's talk of finding the timing and players with which to accomplish said explosive plays. Talk of playing to their strengths — one of which is having one of the NFL's top running backs — surfaces.

"There's plenty of people out there that think if you run the ball and stop the run, you win a lot of games," Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. "That's not as sexy as to say you're the New Orleans Saints and you throw it every down, but New Orleans runs the ball pretty well, too.

"We're always trying to be more explosive in our passing game. In 2007, we did a real good job of that. We did not do a real good a job of that the last couple years. There's a lot of reasons for that. You can't just pin that on one thing."

The thing about those dazzling plays is that they don't always come from the passing game. In the case of the Jaguars — who had the 10th-best running game and fifth-best running back last season — they usually don't.

Jacksonville's two most spectacular plays of 2009 came within two quarters of one game. In the second quarter of a 30-13 loss at Tennessee, Maurice Jones-Drew broke off an 80-yard touchdown run. After halftime, Jones-Drew scored again on a 79-yard run.

In 2007, the last time the Jaguars made the playoffs, they were second in the league in runs of 10 or more yards. Their running game, fueled by the tandem of Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew, had 68 carries that exceeded 10 yards each.

"In order to go deep, it starts with the run game," Jaguars offensive tackle Jordan Black said. "If you can effectively run the ball, you're going to set up that play action. When teams bite on that run and receivers can get out, you're going to get those deep balls."

It follows, then, that the Jaguars' passing game should have the space it needs. Various factors have hindered it.

The 2007 season was quarterback David Garrard's best. The Jaguars were 11th in the league in explosive pass plays, defined as catches that exceed 20 yards.

They haven't progressed in that statistic.

Last season they were 13th in the NFL in explosive pass plays, with 44 such completions. Their passing game ranked 19th last season.

"If you're playing from behind a lot, that limits your opportunities to run the ball, so you're not going to get as favorable defenses to throw against," Koetter said. "We have had issues in pass protection. We have had issues in our receiving corps. Dave has not played as consistently."

Garrard has been challenged with raising his play and has shown signs of that during camp. Tackle Eugene Monroe, who has missed the last week of training camp with a sprained knee, might have been the most improved offensive player.

In the search for consistency at receiver, the Jaguars might have found Mike Thomas, who caught a 49-yard pass from Garrard on the first pass play during the Jaguars' scrimmage. Speed receivers Troy Williamson and Tiquan Underwood also showed flashes of that big-play ability Friday in the Jaguars' first preseason game.

"Troy getting hurt last year probably hurt that," receivers coach Todd Monken said. "We thought we'd get some of those plays with him."

In Philadelphia, Williamson caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke McCown. Underwood caught a 55-yarder. Both receivers had several steps on their defensive backs.

"When you make plays like that and do things like that, it helps the offense out a whole lot," Williamson said.

They were plays that were beautiful to watch. While more of that would make the Jaguars' offense more visually appealing, balance is the real perk.

"We have to back the corners up off our receivers," Garrard said. "If we never throw the ball over their heads, they will just sit there and stay in press the whole time and we'll just have to struggle against press coverage all the time."

The Saints fielded a glittery offense last season that was the best in the league, gaining 403.8 yards per game.

They fielded the fourth-best passing offense, but the Super Bowl champions' ground game was among the best in the league, too. Averaging 131.6 yards per game, the Saints had the NFL's sixth-best rushing offense.